Israel Update: January 2002

In this issue: PA pays fake prisoners, celebrity status for the mothers of rioters, and Arab MK's are at it again.

"There is a heavy burden on Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to explain what they know about this and get to the bottom of this, because this is an escalation." - Colin Powell in The Washington Times

2) DUMMY PRISONERS IN PALESTINIAN JAILS

A senior PA security official recently tried to convince Tanzim militants in Nablus to give themselves up and enter PA jails -- in order to bluff US and European observers, Israel Radio has reported.

The PA official reportedly offered $3,000 to anyone willing to spend a month in PA detention, in lieu of Hamas of Islamic Jihad terrorists.

BBC's journalistic record is perhaps summed up best by one of its own employees, Fayad Abu Shamala, the BBC correspondent in Gaza for the past 10 years. Speaking at a Hamas rally on May 6, 2001, he declared: "Journalists and media organizations [are] waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people."

In the face of this blatant violation of journalistic ethics, BBC mustered a lame response: "Fayad's remarks were made in a private capacity. His reports have always matched the best standards of balance required by the BBC."

The full media bias report is online at HonestReporting.com, where individuals can also sign up for weekly e-mail updates.

4) MOTHERS' MARTYRS MILLIONAIRE

The mothers of three Palestinians killed in the Intifada have won a total of $100,000 in the Arab world's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

The three women -- "martyrs' mothers" as they are known in Arabic -- have been accorded celebrity status in the Arab world. They were invited to Paris to take part in the Saudi-owned MBC satellite television game show, which hosted celebrities during the Ramadan.

5) MORE FROM ARAB MK'S

In light of the Karine-A affair, Knesset Member Ahmid Tibi warned that there would be more attempts to smuggle weapons into Israel. "This will not be the last attempt to smuggle weapons, as long as Israeli attacks against Palestinians continue," Tibi told Yediot Achronot.

Meanwhile, Knesset Member Abdulmalik Dehamshe (United Arab List) said that Israeli Arab October rioters were "noble and right," and "prisoners of conscience," Ha'aretz has reported.

Speaking before the Or Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating the October 2000 riots in which 13 Israeli Arabs were killed, Dehamshe said: "From their point of view, they did something so noble and so right."

Dehamshe was asked to explain why he had called for the use of force against Israeli policemen who were sent to guard workers busy with demolishing illegal buildings. Shortly before the October riots, Dehamshe said that the policemen's "legs and arms should be broken."

6) AMAZON UPDATE

Online book-seller Amazon.com has disqualified www.alaqsaintifada.org from their associates program, making them ineligible to earn referral fees. Amazon has also asked alaqsaintifada.org to remove all its links to Amazon.com, but as of this writing it has not been done.

In September 2001, public pressure forced Amazon to terminate its associate's arrangement with Intifada.com, when it was determined that money raised from the sale of Amazon books was being used to fund terror activities.

Featured at Aish.com:

Visitor Comments: 6

(6)
Anonymous,
January 14, 2002 12:00 AM

TIME TO WAKE UP

After having read this and your other latest postings on the "situation" and the rise in anti-Semitism is it not about time that the leaders of Orthodox Jewry throughout the world, and I include our Charedi bretheren in this, convened an Assembly of Rabbanim and lay leaders to discuss the situation and decide what we have to do if we are to prevent a similar catastrophe to the Holocaust.

Some of us may prefer to hide our heads in the sand but I believe the Jewish people are facing a dark period as bad if not worse than we faced in the 1930s and 1940s and unless immediate steps are taken to unite the Jewish people behind a common leadership we will, heaven forbid, be like lost sheep to picked off by our enemies.

There would have to be a massive education campaign because it is obvious having seen correspondence from so called Liberal Rabbis in the UK that once again we are becoming our enemies' best spokesmen in denigrating our position as Jews and our right to nationhood.

Through your site may I urge all your readers to contact their local rabbonim to press for urgent action before it is too late. In the meantime please say daily tehillim in which merit may our sins be foregiven and our speedy redemption be assured.

(5)
Martha Gomez,
January 13, 2002 12:00 AM

Good news report

Succinct report of news

(4)
Doris Snyder,
January 13, 2002 12:00 AM

Arab MK's are committing treason

Can someone please tell my why Arab members of the Knesset are allowed to remain members of the Israeli government, after many statements amounting to treason? This is beyond my comprehension. Can anyone imagine a U.S. Senator or Representative, telling the world that the U.S. deserved the attacks on September 11?

(3)
Alberto Corcos,
January 13, 2002 12:00 AM

Thank you for your info! In Italy we are starting an activity similar to honest reporting and this newsletter helps our task. Yours
Alberto Corcos

(2)
Anonymous,
January 13, 2002 12:00 AM

at last the real truth

It is so good to get the truth of events inIsraelas Australian news is presented in pro Palastinian ways sadly

(1)
Yisrael Harris,
January 13, 2002 12:00 AM

honestReporting

Dear Aish:

I commend your excellent Israel media campaign.

I wish to offer a correction to the most recent email I received from you:

I do not consider honestReporting.com to be pro-Israel. This would imply that they bear a pro-Israel bias, which is simply not true.

I see HonestReporting.com as simply pro-truth. Period. I think this is an important distinction.

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

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